Newsroom University of Manchester

‘The Plastic Divide’ - how carrier bag bans impact the poorest communities

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 13:11:00 +0000

A new study from The University of Manchester has shed light on an unexpected consequence of plastic bag bans in East Africa, and why well-intentioned environmental laws may actually be making life harder for the people they aim to protect.

Anthropologist Dr Declan Murray spent nine months in Tanzania’s capital city Dar es Salaam, following the everyday journeys of plastic bags from small shops and street food stalls to people’s homes and workplaces. Tanzania banned plastic carrier bags in 2019, joining more than 120 countries around the world attempting to tackle plastic waste – but six years later, the ban has produced surprising results.

Despite the law, small thin plastic pouches - used to package everyday essentials like flour, oil and cooked snacks - remain a lifeline for millions of residents. For many families who live day-to-day, buying small amounts of food is the only affordable option. Without these cheap pouches, there is no practical way for shopkeepers to portion out food.

The research - which has been published in the Journal of Material Culture - shows that the ban has removed large plastic bags from supermarkets and wealthier neighbourhoods, but the poorest communities have been left with few real alternatives. Paper, cloth and woven bags are too expensive, too big, or not suited to carrying wet or hot foods. As a result, small plastic pouches continue to circulate quietly, helping people to manage the daily “search for life” - a Swahili phrase many Dar es Salaam residents use to describe the struggle to earn enough money each day.

The study introduces the idea of “The Plastic Divide” - the gap between those who can easily switch away from plastics, and those whose livelihoods depend on them. Well-off residents can afford reusable bags and buy pre-packaged goods from supermarkets, but low-income families rely heavily on small shops, street food vendors and local markets - all of which depend on these plastic pouches to function.

It also highlights how many people make a living from plastics. Small-scale manufacturers, market sellers and bicycle-riding wholesalers all depend on selling the pouches. Others reuse plastic creatively - as fuel for cooking fires, rain protection, or even as a way to keep insects away from food. For these groups, plastics are not simply waste - they are tools for survival.

“Plastic pollution is a real problem, but these findings show that bans which don’t consider everyday life can hit the poorest communities hardest,” said Dr Murray. “People aren’t using plastic because they want to harm the environment - they’re using it because it’s the only option that works for them.”

The study raises important questions for governments, charities and environmental groups worldwide. It suggests that reducing plastic waste must go hand-in-hand with supporting people’s daily needs - whether through affordable alternatives, changes to food supply systems or involving low-income communities in designing solutions.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/13591835261421143

MA Visual Anthropology graduate film showcased in Second World War museum

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 11:24:22 +0000

Marianna Łoboda, 2025 MA Visual Anthropology graduate, was invited to showcase her graduation film, (Dis)connnection, earlier this year at the Second World War museum in Gdańsk.

Based on her final MA project, (Dis)connnection highlighted the issue of unpaid labour at a Polish petrochemical investment project. Following the screening, the film was discussed by a national labour inspector, and a representative from the Polish Migration Forum.

Marianna was also invited to screen her film in other major cities across Poland, including Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków.

To address the cases of unpaid labour during her fieldwork, Marianna approached journalists for news coverage, filed official complaints with the National Labour Inspectorate and the Polish Ombudsman and contacted the Ministry of State Assets.

She also approached politicians and distributed brochures to raise awareness about the rights of migrant workers in Poland.

Since the film’s release, the company administering the project changed its subcontractor agreement practices to address the issues highlighted in the film, and the national labour inspector has imposed financial penalties on companies that withhold salaries from migrants. Marianna also learned that the affected workers received their outstanding salaries.

Visit the Granada Centre website to read more about the Marianna’s graduation film and its impact.

Dr Jennifer Cearns highlights risks of AI companionship for young people

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 13:13:44 +0000

Dr Jennifer Cearns, Lecturer in AI Trust in the Department of Social Anthropology, contributed analysis on why young people are developing a reliance on AI chatbots and the potential harms associated with this trend.

The BBC article features voices from young people across the North West, alongside youth workers and academics, drawing on new survey data showing that 21% of young people in the region find it easier to talk to AI than to another person.

Dr Cearns highlighted why AI chatbots can be particularly appealing to young users, describing them as “compelling, personable, and never irritable or jealous or manipulative – at least in theory.” Unlike human relationships, she explained, AI systems are always available and never push back unless explicitly instructed to do so.

Concerns were raised about the potential long-term impact of extensive interactions with AI systems that do not challenge harmful ideas or behaviours. If these technologies fail to address issues such as misogyny or hate speech during critical developmental stages, there is a risk that such attitudes could later influence how individuals relate to other people.

Her comments draw directly on her wider research into human–AI relationships, intimacy and trust. This includes her latest research on AI intimacy, empathy and emotional development, as well as publications exploring personhood, kinship and ethics in human–machine interaction.

Dr Cearns’ expertise has previously informed national discussions on the social impact of AI, including University of Manchester research on emotional attachment to AI companions and the risks of uncritical trust in emerging technologies.

This body of work highlights the University of Manchester’s influence on public understanding of artificial intelligence, particularly in areas of social wellbeing, ethics, and trust. It demonstrates the importance of human-centred approaches as AI becomes increasingly integrated into sensitive aspects of daily life.

Read the full BBC News article, ‘“I spoke to ChatGPT eight times a day”: Gen Z’s loneliness crisis’ on the BBC News website.

New book highlights human toll of the Kenyan property boom

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 12:28:37 +0000

As Nairobi’s skyline climbs ever higher, life for those living on the city’s edges is being transformed - and not always for the better.

In a powerful new book, Peasants to Paupers: Land, Class and Kinship in Central Kenya, Dr Peter Lockwood of The University of Manchester tells the human stories behind Kenya’s rapid urban expansion and the families being left behind.

Based on years of living and working alongside residents in Kiambu County - an area just north of Nairobi where farmland is giving way to housing estates and shopping malls - Lockwood’s book captures a quiet but profound social upheaval. It reveals how fathers, once proud smallholders, are selling off ancestral plots of land, leaving their sons landless and adrift in a volatile economy.

“Land in Kiambu has become unimaginably valuable,” says Lockwood. “For some families, it’s a ticket out of hardship. For others, selling land means losing not only their home but their history.”

Through vivid portraits of everyday lives - farmers, young jobseekers, mothers struggling to make ends meet - Peasants to Paupers explores what happens when the dream of a stable, middle-class future collides with the harsh realities of unemployment, soaring land prices and changing family values.

The book opens with Mwaura, a young man watching his father sell their family’s land to a private developer. What follows is both a personal tragedy and a reflection of a wider trend: as land becomes a commodity, generations of Kenyans are being cut off from the security that once defined rural life.

The book tells a deeply human story of hope and heartbreak. It shows how moral ideas about family, work and responsibility are being tested as young people face shrinking opportunities and elders grapple with impossible choices between survival and legacy.

Lockwood, a Hallsworth Research Fellow in Political Economy at Manchester, brings a journalist’s eye for storytelling to his anthropological research. His work has previously been published in leading journals, and he co-curated Nairobi Becoming (2024), an ethnographic portrait of the Kenyan capital.

Peasants to Paupers is published by Cambridge University Press as part of the prestigious International African Library series and is freely available online under open access, ensuring that readers in Kenya and around the world can engage with its findings.

Konger FC: How Football Is Helping Manchester’s Hong Kong Community Find Home and Voice

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 12:17:25 +0000

A Saturday morning football club in Manchester is doing more than just scoring goals - it’s helping a community rebuild its identity.

Founded in 2021, Konger FC is a football team made up of Hong Kongers who have relocated to Manchester, many on British National (Overseas) passports. Their move was prompted by increasing restrictions on activism and cultural expression in Hong Kong. Now, through football, they’re finding new ways to connect, integrate, and express themselves.

The club is at the heart of a new research project which received Community Partnership funding from the School of Social Sciences, led by University of Manchester academics, David Stroup from the Politics department and Jolynna Sinanan from Social Anthropology. The project, which includes short films and a multimedia website documents the 2024/25 season of Konger FC and lays the foundation for a full documentary film.

But this is more than just a sports story. The researchers have embedded themselves in the club’s activities - attending matches, training sessions, and interviewing players, sponsors, and fans. Their goal is to amplify the voices of Hong Kongers in Manchester, showcasing how they preserve their culture, build community networks, and contribute to civic life.

The project also taps into resources at the University of Manchester’s Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology, offering the Konger FC community tools and expertise to share their story with wider audiences.

Through everyday activities like football, the Hong Kong diaspora in Manchester is practising a quiet form of activism - championing democratic values and human rights while resisting the pressures of political repression back home. The upcoming documentary and website aim to shine a light on their journey, highlighting both the challenges and triumphs of starting anew in Britain.

Konger FC is proving that football can be more than a game—it can be a lifeline, a platform, and a powerful way to say, “We’re still here.”

Research shows that land can’t buy security for young Kenyans

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 10:30:12 +0100

An anthropologist from The University of Manchester has uncovered the hidden struggles of young men on the edges of Nairobi, who inherit land but lack the means to turn it into the financial security they desperately need.

Published in Economy and Society, Dr Peter Lockwood’s research reveals how land ownership in Kenya’s booming peri-urban areas provides young men with a vital safety net - but also traps them in a cycle of dependence and uncertainty.

Through long-term fieldwork in Kiambu County, Dr Lockwood followed the lives of men like Cash, a 28-year-old who inherited three acres after his father’s death. Cash dreams of becoming a landlord, imagining apartment blocks rising from his family land. Yet without money to build, he admits: “I have the land, but it’s not money.”

The research highlights a dilemma faced by many young Kenyans. On one side, inherited land offers security - a place to live, a potential asset and a symbol of adulthood. On the other, without access to credit or investment, it becomes what Dr Lockwood calls a “dead asset” - valuable on paper, but unusable in practice.

Some young men choose to break away from their family land altogether, pursuing work in Nairobi’s informal economy as a way of proving independence. Others remain at home, clinging to their inheritance in the hope it will one day transform their lives. Both paths are fraught with difficulty.

The study also reflects a global concern. As house prices rise faster than wages in cities across the world, young people from Manchester to Nairobi are being told that property is their route to security. Yet many find themselves excluded from ownership or holding assets they cannot make use of.

“This research shows how property has become both a promise and a trap,” Dr Lockwood added. “It offers the illusion of escape from precarious work - but for many young people, it never delivers.”

The findings shed new light on how land, property and housing shape the futures of young people in rapidly urbanising regions, and they raise urgent questions about inequality, opportunity and the future of work worldwide.

When AI breaks your heart

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 13:35:12 +0100

Dr Jennifer Cearns is a digital anthropologist, specialising in AI and algorithms in social life. Her research focuses on how people relate to one another through emerging intelligent technologies and she is currently conducting researching into Human-AI relations, looking at intimacy and how trust and empathy forms between humans and AIs.

As people increasingly search for connection in an often-isolated modern world, the line between technology and companionship is blurring. By examining what happens when those bonds with AI falter, Dr Cearns’ work sheds light not only on the ethics of human-machine intimacy, but also on the wider human search for belonging.

In her most recent project, she has used digital ethnography and interviews to examine how users emotionally invest in AI ‘soulmates’ – AI chatbots that become romantic partners to humans – and the grief that follows their malfunction or shutdown. This research is critical for highlighting new forms of kinship and ethical care in human-machine relationships.

Meet the researcher

Jennifer Cearns is Lecturer in AI Trust and Security, in the Department of Social Anthropology. Her research explores how people form emotional, romantic, and therapeutic relationships with AI, focusing on kinship, ethics, and cultural understandings of personhood.

Read her papers

Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute Anthropologist awarded multiple prestigious book prizes

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:22:18 +0100

Atmospheric Violence: Disaster and Repair in Kashmir (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2024) has most recently been awarded Gold in the ‘Social Change and Social Justice’ category at the 2025 Nautilus Book Awards. Recognising books that advance social transformation and conscious living, the Nautilus Awards have previously honoured influential figures such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Malala Yousafzai, and Barbara Kingsolver, placing this work among globally celebrated voices for justice and equity.

The book, written by Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI) Anthropologist, Dr Omer Aijazi, has also been awarded the 2024 James Fisher Prize for First Books on the Himalayan Region and received an Honourable Mention in the 2025 AIPS Book Prize, granted by the American Institute of Pakistan Studies.

Drawing on extensive fieldwork in the portion of Kashmir under Pakistan’s control and its surrounding mountainscapes, Atmospheric Violence explores how communities continue to live, relate, and imagine otherwise in landscapes shaped by both environmental disasters and militarised conflict. Through the intimate stories of five protagonists in remote mountain valleys, the book illustrates how people forge lives among violence that is everywhere—or ‘atmospheric’.

Departing from conventional trauma-centric approaches, the monograph frames disaster through the lens of repair. Engaging with Black and Indigenous studies, affect theory, and decolonial thought, the book blurs the boundaries of theory, storytelling, and activism to offer a transformative vision for understanding resilience and care in the world’s conflict zones.

Speaking of the awards, Dr Omer Aijazi, Lecturer in Disaster Management and Climate Crisis, shared:
“These awards testify that scholars are storytellers. We must take risks, experiment with our craft, and work from the heart. Other worlds, other futures, are indeed possible.”

These prestigious awards affirm Atmospheric Violence as a significant and timely contribution to global conversations on justice, survival, and the politics of humanitarian response.

Tiny Human Dramas: 5 Research Stories, 24 Hours, 1 Unforgettable Night of Theatre

Thu, 15 May 2025 16:04:24 +0100

Tiny Human Dramas returns to Manchester’s Contact Theatre on Saturday 31 May with a daring, moving and utterly unique night of theatre.

In just 90 minutes, audiences will witness five entirely original short plays - each created in just 24 hours - that explore some of the most complex, poignant and timely questions about what it means to be human today. This isn’t just experimental theatre – it is research, radically reimagined.

The brainchild of Dr Meghan Rose Donnelly and Dr Alexandra D’Onofrio from The University of Manchester and theatre producer Laura Sophie Helbig, Tiny Human Dramas pairs anthropologists with theatre-makers to transform deep, field-based research into short, emotionally resonant performances.

Each team has just 24 hours to devise, rehearse and stage their 10-minute piece - a creative constraint which sparks a surprising level of intensity and innovation.

Last year’s sold-out premiere at Contact Theatre drew a packed house and rave audience reviews. It brought anthropological research to life for new audiences, sparked conversations about diversity and belonging, and showed the public that research can be a living, breathing, creative force.

“It’s rare to see a project where everyone - researchers, artists, students, and audiences - walks away changed,” says Helbig. “We’re not just making theatre. We’re co-creating new ways of thinking, feeling, and connecting across difference.”

Each play is infused with the distinctive voice of its creators - from poetic monologues to ensemble movement, to satire and sensory storytelling. Following the performance, audience members are invited to stay for a candid conversation with the creators, discussing the themes, the process, and what it means to tell stories across cultures.

In a time of global complexity and cultural tension, it offers a rare chance to pause, reflect and connect. It celebrates the diversity of lived experience and invites audiences to engage directly with the kinds of questions anthropology is uniquely positioned to ask.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at https://contactmcr.com/events/tiny-human-dramas-2.

Tiny Human Dramas is part of an expanding vision - the team is currently developing a short documentary film about the creative process and exploring opportunities to take the project to national festivals, including the Edinburgh Fringe and the ESRC Festival of Social Science.

Ground-breaking £2.66 Million Wellcome Discovery Award to transform lives of Motor Neurone Disease patients

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 09:41:16 +0100

In a remarkable stride towards enhancing the lives of those affected by MND, the Wellcome Trust has awarded a £2.66 million Wellcome Discovery Award to a pioneering project led by Professor Andrew Irving, Dr Michael Atkins (aka Cheddar Gorgeous), and Professor Steve Pettifer.

MND, which affects 1 in 300 people, leads to the loss of speech, movement, and facial expression. The Co-Creative MiND project aims to revolutionise the way individuals with MND interact with the world by combining visual anthropology and computer science.

The project will develop new body-computer interfaces, creative tools, and visual anthropology methods to facilitate social interaction, creative expression, and cultural participation. This includes creative writing, graphic novels, animation, theatre, photography, and filmmaking, showcasing how life with MND can be transformed through creative inclusion.

The project builds on a proof-of-concept established through a University of Manchester Humanities Strategic Investment Fund award and will run from 2025 to 2030.

A short clip, from a full-length theatre production can be viewed on vimeo. The production is scripted and directed by eye and chin movements, features Dr Michael Atkins/Cheddar Gorgeous and Sarah Ezekiel, who has lived with MND for 23 years; with original music by Alex Herd also living with MND who composes using smartbox technology,

The next show, "Ms. Mandy's Adventures in Wonderland," will be held on 15 June at JW3, London. More information can be found on the JW3 website.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this ground-breaking project, which promises to make a significant impact on the lives of those living with MND.

University of Manchester to host first ASA Public Anthropology Festival

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 12:38:54 +0000

The Association of Social Anthropologists in the UK (ASA) has chosen The University of Manchester to host its inaugural anthropology festival.

Taking place from Friday 5 - Sunday 7 April, PeopleFest: Public Anthropology Festival 2024 marks a momentous occasion as it coincides with the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the University of Manchester Social Anthropology Department.

It will be a vibrant event celebrating the diverse facets of anthropology and fostering curiosity among the public about the captivating world of culture and society.

The festival promises a rich array of activities including exhibitions, performances, films, book talks, walking tours, and more, all of which showcase groundbreaking research in society and culture from around the globe.

One of the highlights of the festival will be the work-in-progress performance of See Me/Hear Me featuring Drag Race UK legend Cheddar Gorgeous, a captivating play delving into the inner world of a paralysed woman through the lens of drag culture. Developed in collaboration with artist Sarah Ezekiel, this performance challenges the link between (dis)ability and identity.

Attendees can also look forward to guided walks through the streets of Manchester, uncovering the secret lives of night workers, and engaging in conversation with esteemed artist and filmmaker Jeremy Deller. Additionally, the festival will feature the highly anticipated ASA Annual Public Firth Lecture by Professor Alpa Shah, renowned for her popular writing, most recently on communist guerrillas and democracy in India.

“We are so excited for people to come and get captivated by the diverse range of activities available, whether it’s writing poetry by the Manchester canals, soaking up the sounds of the Colombian rainforest, or guessing the electoral politics of tomorrow,” said Dr Meghan Rose Donnelly, Lecturer in Social Anthropology and PeopleFest Engagement Lead. “It’s all based on current research in anthropology - but you might not even realise! Engaging with and comprehending human experiences is key to anthropology, and that is precisely what we will be immersed in together.”

All events are free and open to the public, reflecting the ASA and The University of Manchester Social Anthropology Department's commitment to making anthropology accessible to all. It is hoped that this initiative will spark curiosity about the discipline and inspire local communities to reimagine academia in new and exciting ways.

For more information and to stay updated on the festival programme, please visit the PeopleFest official website.

Faculty of Humanities to host first British Academy lecture

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 12:18:36 +0000

On Monday, 7 March 2022 the University will welcome David Wengrow FBA, Professor of Comparative Archaeology at University College London.

The lecture, titled ‘For an anthropology and archaeology of freedom’ will draw on Professor Wengrow’s collaboration with the late Professor David Graeber. The lecture will argue the importance of an ethnography of freedom to the foundations of anthropology.

Professors Wengrow and Graeber recently co-authored the New York Times bestselling ‘The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity’.

The public lecture will be followed by an audience Q+A and a drinks reception, all hosted at Alliance Manchester Business School. Tickets are available to book online:

Book your free ticket

Manchester graduate Harriet McMahon celebrates a twin success

Mon, 24 Jul 2017 14:27:22 +0100

A student from The University of Manchester is celebrating after graduating from her degree only three months after giving birth to twin girls.

Harriet McMahon had just started the final year of her Archaeology & Anthropology degree when she discovered she was expecting twins. She was delighted, but also knew this would make her final year much more complicated to complete.

Against the advice of some family and friends, Harriet decided to carry on with her course rather than deferring until she had given birth. However, she took her studies and her pregnancy in her stride, and university staff and her fellow students offered support wherever they could.

Despite having extreme morning sickness for the first three months of her pregnancy and having to spend a lot of time at home during this, she was closely supported by her academic supervisor Dr Melanie Giles, who met with her one-on-one and prepared her for her final year exam.

She was also supported by her fellow students, who stepped in to help in their group work projects, including their archaeology radio programme.

She thought she would be able to complete her studies before giving birth, but her twins - Florence and Mathilda – actually arrived three weeks early, which meant she had to finish her dissertation while caring for them. Dr Giles ensured she helped with this by meeting with Harriet – and the twins – and helping her to meet her deadlines.

Harriet now plans to take some months off with her new arrivals, but has applied for several graduate schemes and hopes to begin one of these next year.

"When Harriet told me she was not just expecting, but expecting twins, I was delighted - not least because I am also a twin - but also daunted," said Dr Giles. "They were due before the end of term, and we knew we would have to work hard to get all of her assessments completed by the time they arrived. We nearly managed that!"

Ethics enquiry says cosmetic procedures are 'cause for serious concern'

Thu, 13 Jul 2017 16:18:09 +0100

A Nuffield Council on Bioethics enquiry chaired by The University of Manchester’s Professor Jeanette Edwards has highlighted serious concerns about the practice and promotion of invasive cosmetic procedures in the UK.

Their wide-ranging report recommends a number of changes, including a ban on offering ‘walk-in’ procedures to young people and a complete overhaul of the regulation of products used in the procedures.

New developments and marketing have made an increasing range of surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures – including botox, dermal fillers, implants, and skin lightening, as well as newer techniques such as ‘fat freezing’ and ‘vampire’ treatments – big business and widely accessible.

Also, under 18s are bombarded by social media and popular culture that focus on body image. The Council is concerned that they feel the need to conform to appearance ‘ideals’ - these expectations are exacerbated by apps that present cosmetic surgery as a game.

“We’ve been shocked by some of the evidence we’ve seen, including make-over apps and cosmetic surgery ‘games’ that target girls as young as nine,” said Professor Edwards. “There is a daily bombardment from advertising and through social media channels like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat that relentlessly promote unrealistic and often discriminatory messages on how people, especially girls and women, ‘should’ look.”

The report recommends that social media companies collaborate to carry out independent research to better understand how social media contributes to appearance anxiety, and to act on the findings.

Dermal fillers that have no formal quality or safety approval can currently be bought freely in the UK, and there are no limits on who can inject them. The report recommends that the Department of Health should make all dermal fillers ‘prescription-only’, which, as well as placing limits on which fillers can be used, will mean that those prescribing them need to take professional responsibility for their injection.

Mr Mark Henley, a plastic surgeon and member of the Council’s inquiry group, said: “We need to overturn the belief that fillers are risk-free. I’ve seen serious and long-term injuries from fillers in my clinic. Even fillers injected properly can cause lumps that have to be surgically removed. They have even been known to cause blindness and loss of facial soft tissues in rare cases.”

The Council says that the Department of Health must work with professional bodies to ensure that information on the number and type of cosmetic procedures carried out in the UK is collected and made publically available. Data and research are also needed to improve the very poor evidence base on the outcomes of procedures.

Professor Edwards said: “These procedures are not trivial. To help people make good decisions, they need access to high quality information which they often don’t get. We also need better information on whether these procedures provide the long-term physical and psychological benefits that people often hope for.”

The Council believes it is unethical that there is nothing to stop completely unqualified people from providing risky procedures like dermal fillers. It says that anyone offering invasive cosmetic treatments should be trained and certified before being allowed to practise. The Council also calls for an awareness campaign to help people check their practitioner’s credentials.

Professor Edwards, said: “It should be easy for people to check that the person giving them a cosmetic procedure is properly qualified and trained, but at the moment it isn’t.”

The Council also calls on the Government to fully implement recommendations made by the Keogh report in 2013 so the public can be assured that those providing cosmetic procedures, the places where they are carried out, and the products used are all properly regulated.

Human skull study causes evolutionary headache

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Scientists studying a unique collection of human skulls have shown that changes to the skull shape thought to have occurred independently through separate evolutionary events may have actually precipitated each other.

Researchers at the Universities of Manchester and Barcelona examined 390 skulls from the Austrian town of Hallstatt and found evidence that the human skull is highly integrated, meaning variation in one part of the skull is linked to changes throughout the skull.

The Austrian skulls are part of a famous collection kept in the Hallstatt Catholic Church ossuary; local tradition dictates that the remains of the town’s dead are buried but later exhumed to make space for future burials. The skulls are also decorated with paintings and, crucially, bear the name of the deceased. The Barcelona team made measurements of the skulls and collected genealogical data from the church’s records of births, marriages and deaths, allowing them to investigate the inheritance of skull shape.

The team tested whether certain parts of the skull – the face, the cranial base and the skull vault or brain case – changed independently, as anthropologists have always believed, or were in some way linked. The scientists simulated the shift of the foramen magnum (where the spinal cord enters the skull) associated with upright walking; the retraction of the face, thought to be linked to language development and perhaps chewing; and the expansion and rounding of the top of the skull, associated with brain expansion. They found that, rather than being separate evolutionary events, changes in one part of the brain would facilitate and even drive changes in the other parts.

“We found that genetic variation in the skull is highly integrated, so if selection were to favour a shape change in a particular part of the skull, there would be a response involving changes throughout the skull,” said Dr Chris Klingenberg, in Manchester’s Faculty of Life Sciences

“We were able to use the genetic information to simulate what would happen if selection were to favour particular shape changes in the skull. As those changes, we used the key features that are derived in humans, by comparison with our ancestors: the shift of the foramen magnum associated with the transition to bipedal posture, the retraction of the face, the flexion of the cranial base, and, finally, the expansion of the braincase.

“As much as possible, we simulated each of these changes as a localised shape change limited to a small region of the skull. For each of the simulations, we obtained a predicted response that included not only the change we selected for, but also all the others. All those features of the skull tended to change as a whole package. This means that, in evolutionary history, any of the changes may have facilitated the evolution of the others.”

Lead author Dr Neus Martínez-Abadías, from the University of Barcelona’s, added: “This study has important implications for inferences on human evolution and suggests the need for a reinterpretation of the evolutionary scenarios of the skull in modern humans.”

The research, funded by the Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (USA) and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, is published in the journal Evolution.

Ends

Notes for editors

Images of the decorated Hallstatt skulls are available on request.

A copy of the paper,Martínez-Abadías, N.; Esparza, M.; Sjövold, T.; González-José, R.; Santos, M.; Hernàndez, M.; Klingenberg, C.P. “Pervasive genetic integration directs the evolution of human skull shape”. Evolution, November 2011, DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01496.x, is also available.

For further enquiries contact:

Aeron Haworth
Media Relations
Faculty of Life Sciences
The University of Manchester

Tel: 0161 275 8383
Mob: 07717 881563
Email: aeron.haworth@manchester.ac.uk